


Tommy Shelby's WWI timeline

by Veneredirimmel (Smilla)



Category: Peaky Blinders (TV)
Genre: Meta, Nonfiction, World War I
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-31
Updated: 2019-01-31
Packaged: 2019-10-19 23:05:46
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,027
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17610755
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Smilla/pseuds/Veneredirimmel
Summary: An attempt at putting some kind of order to the scattered info Peaky Blinders episodes give into Tommy's experience in war.





	Tommy Shelby's WWI timeline

**Author's Note:**

> This is in no way a professional research. I’m sure there are a many mistakes, shortcuts and inaccuracies that would hurt a war historian deeply. I apologize in advance. My intent was making a general sense of what happened and when, to Tommy, and to a lesser degree, his brothers. A lot has been presumed, other things have been desumed; the gaps were filled arbitrarily. If I forgot something glaringly (I only rewatched PB four times, going on five) or made some glaring mistake, please let me know.  
> Feel free to use this info as you wish - possibly by writing many, many fic :D.
> 
> I may complete this post with everything I have learned about Shell Shock in WWI as soon as I have the time.
> 
> Originally posted at my [tumblr](http://veneredirimmel.tumblr.com/post/182279880220/peaky-blinders-tommys-timeline-in-wwi), but polished a bit, here, and with some extra info added.

**28th, July 1914** Start of World War I

 

**July to September 1914**

  * Tommy signs as volunteer together with his brothers into the Royal Warwickshire Regiment, also called the Birmingham Rifles. The show refers to the unit the Shelby were part of, as the Small Heath Rifles, composed by people coming from the same neighbourhood according to the ‘Pal System’ which was common practice at the time to ensure loyalty among soldiers fighting in the same unit. The Pal System had to be abandoned due to heavy losses in the course of the war that made necessary sending men when they were needed the most.



 

**April, 1915**

  * Arthur was shipped to Gallipoli and he came back when the Allies failed to successfully conclude the campaign, in January, 1916. I assume that John Shelby was a gun machine operator at the same unit he started from and kept that position even when the Birmingham Rifles Regiment was disbanded in February, 1918



**August, 1915**

  * The 179th Tunneling Company was created and at some point Tommy Joined it, together with Freddie Thorne and Danny Whizzbang. The Company was sent to help at the battle of the Somme where tunnelling warfare reached its highest point in particular at La Boiselle. The most notable event was the explosion at the Messine Ridges in June 1917, which left a crater called the Glory Hole and represented a big victory for the Allies. The tunnel collapse and the episode Tommy has nightmares about in series one must have happened during this two years-period. During this same time, the events Tommy talks about to Alfie in episode 6, s2, probably happened, given that the 179th Tunneling Company was involved in the Capture of Schwaben Redoubt. It is also possible that the incident Tommy is referring to as ’Schwabenhöhe’ is the name of the German front line the Lochnagar tunnels were aimed at destroying during the battle at the Somme. 



**August 1917**

  * The 179th had suffered heavy losses and tunnelling started to lose importance in the war strategy so Tommy must have returned the the Birmingham Rifles. Here, he probably reunited with his brothers and with them participated in various battles on the Western Front. In the meantime, probably during his tunnelling years, he must have acquired the appointment/rank of Sergeant Major, or Company Sergeant Major, and at least two medals. The Military Medal, which was created in 1916 and had no monetary bonus attached to it, and the Distinguished Conduct Medal, which he tells Campbell he received because he was shot, and that had a monetary bonus attached to it. At the time, medals were given in a week to ensure that the soldiers being awarded could benefit from them.



**1917- 1918**

  * The Shelby remained together, probably due to Tommy’s influence as he had risen through the ranks even after the Birmingham Rifles regiment was disbanded. They joined the last offensive of the Allies against the British army in Yprès and in Flanders. The ‘Bleak Mid - Winter’ episode Tommy talks about at John’s funeral must have happened during this time, in Hull, as the last offensive from the British Army, again at the Somme, started as a disaster before it became successful.. Two big battles were fought at Passchendaele and Messines which were retaken by the Germans after they had been conquered by the British.



**11, November 1918, Armistice Day**

  * Tommy was most likely in Flander Fields, and presumably so were his brothers, Freddie Thorne, Danny Whizzbang and Jeremiah Jesus, only survivors of the Small Heath Rifles at the end of the war.



 

 

 

Tunneling was covered by secret for years, so a lot of what happened in the tunneling warfare was unknown to the public opinion. A lot of the work in the tunnels was nerve-wracking because it was paramount while digging ‘saps’ to avoid crossing the tunnels dug by the Germans. Soldiers spent a lot of time, hours to days, listening to the noises coming from the other side hoping to understand if they were close to an enemy tunnel. Collapses were frequent, as it was blowing up charges by mistake, or Germans blowing up their tunnels up. Both these events could flow the tunnels with carbon monoxide and bury soldiers under the mud. The 179th Tunnelling Company, in particular at La Boiselle, started to dug tunnels as deep as 100 ft (32 metres).

As Company Sergeant Major, Tommy’s rank/appointment, could be in charge of a battalion if the officer had been killed, wounded or if there were not officers available - which happened quite often. It’s the highest rank/appointment among non-commissioned officers (NCO).

Men remained in the trenches for 8 days before they were relieved. There were 3 type of trenches: Front, Fire and Reserve. Front trenches were the ones on the front where the soldiers were actively fighting. Fire Trenches were the ones that covered the Front Trenches with fire power, so they were usually full with gun machines and mortars. Reserve Trenches were way in the back and in there, soldiers stationed when relieved from the front trenches.

Trenches were equipped with dugouts where, usually only officers, slept. The rest of the soldiers didn’t have dug outs and had to sleep under plastic turps. The hygienic conditions in the trenches were abhorrent with outbreaks of lices and the presence of rats that fed on unburied bodies. Common diseases were trench foot, trench fever and trench nephritis.

To keep the morale of the soldiers high, soldiers may be sent to trip on the seaside and football matches or boxing matches were organized. A newspaper called the ‘Wipers Time’ was distributed among soldier to spread news etc.

Privates were called Sappers by the Royal Artillery (which the Birmingham Rifles was) so the Shelbys all started as sappers. Tunnellers were also called Clay-kickers.

Guns used during WWI:

Short Magazine Lee- Einfield MK III (SMLE Mk III) Lewis Gun , Vickers Machine Gun Stokes Mortar, Tanks.

Dismissal from the Army took, in some cases months and lasted well into 1920. This gave places to many cases of mutiny and exploit of violence among soldiers who simply wanted to go back home as soon as possible.


End file.
